It’s used derisively to describe someone who talks a big game, but doesn’t have the resources to back it up. Well in Salinas, when it comes to public art, the phrase fits! There are some big hats, and no resources.

This Central Coast world-class piece is by contemporary artist Claes Oldenburg. It’s near the Salinas Sports Complex, titled Hat in Three Stages of Landing. It’s been there since 1977. But now the three-hat installation is faded and deteriorated and really needs some help. Of course you’d only know that, if you could see them. But the view three decades ago that made them visible is now obstructed. The hats are effectively out of sight, and the area around them seems neglected.

Salinas’ city council to the rescue! The council should be applauded for its recent commitment to have the Big Hats repaired to their original state, and to not do it on the cheap, although there’s a hefty price tag: perhaps as much 115,000 taxpayer-dollars to get the job done. In the financially strapped city of Salinas - where voters just agreed to extend the Measure-V sales tax indefinitely - that’s probably not the most fiscally sound solution.

But what better project is there for private fundraising than an iconic public arts piece? Enthusiastic art-lovers who have the means, in Salinas, and frankly, on the Peninsula, could come together to repair the internationally known Big Hats to their original glory. Salinas’ Library Director Elizabeth Martinez will be leading the charge to raise private donations, but we’d hope a prominent private citizen or two would also step-up and help lead the way.

A public arts piece like this can serve as a region’s landmark. Perhaps enough money could be raised so that a newly refreshed and sparkling Big Hats could be moved to a more conspicuous Salinas location?